Merchandisers throughout the world have endeavored to display and package their products in a simple and effective manner. In the class of stand-up displays which also may serve as packages for merchandise, there is, for example, German Patent No. 24 10 638 which discloses a generally rectangular box with a cover which encloses and protects products inside the box during storage or shipment. The cover can be folded rearwardly over the top to provide access to the contents of the box. When folded rearwardly through a sufficient arc, the cover and the box form an A-frame-like structure which supports the open box in an upright position. A shortcoming of the package is that it is unstable in its upstanding position because the folded cover is not restrained to the box.
As for supports for display only, artists have long used the well-known easel to support their paintings. Display packages utilizing the artist's easel concept are also known in the art. There is, for example, a display package made from a panel of stiff cardboard with a product-holding receptacle to which a flat cardboard flap is joined. Perforations in the flap enable it to be pivoted into an inclined position relative to the receptacle to form an A-frame-like structure.
A tab foldable from the back of the receptacle can be mechanically attached to the folded flap to render the package stable in its A-frame configuration. The tab is difficult to manipulate and use because it must be folded out and extended through tight slits in the relatively stiff cardboard of flap. Improper handling can bend or tear the tab and thereby render it useless for forming a stable connection between the receptacle and the tab. Moreover, repeated insertions of the tab into the slits will degrade the slits and they will lose their holding effect. Furthermore, if the packagage and its support flap are squashed down, the tab and indentation mechanism may be destroyed.